PARIS (Reuters) – France is reluctant to push back post-Brexit tariffs on British and European electric vehicles from next year, French government sources said on Monday, a move that could affect both French and British manufacturers.
As part of the agreement governing post-Brexit commercial relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom, it is planned that electric vehicles will include 45% European or British components from next year, as well as a threshold of 50% to 60% for batteries and battery packs, under penalty of customs taxes of 10%.
Problem: neither British nor European manufacturers have strengthened their supply chains sufficiently to be able to meet such standards. They asked that the entry into force of this regulation be postponed to 2027.
However, despite the prospect of Renault and Stellantis being subjected to these customs tariffs, France is reluctant to accept such a postponement, considering that it would de facto be a reopening of post-Brexit negotiations which had been long and tense. , declared two French representatives familiar with the matter.
“The ink is barely dry,” said one of these representatives, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We have to be very, very careful” on this issue, he added.
According to one of the sources, Paris is waiting to hear the opinion of the European Commission. According to the other source, Germany would rather lean towards postponing the entry into force of these customs taxes, even if the question is still debated in Berlin.
In Brussels, the European executive recalled that the Brexit agreement was the result of negotiations during which the two parties agreed on a “general balance of commitments”.
Problems raised by one of the two parties can, however, be examined by the bodies set up under the agreement, added a spokesperson for the European Commission.
Last month, the British Motor Industry Federation said the EU was reluctant to London’s request for a deferral of the taxes but that British manufacturers remained optimistic about the prospect of a deal on the issue. .
(Michel Rose report, written by Jean Terzian)
©2023 Thomson Reuters, all rights reserved. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. “Reuters” and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies.